Encouraging investors to buy foreclosed homes in bulk would help shrink the U.S. housing surplus, stabilize property prices and provide affordable rentals, Morgan Stanley (MS) housing analysts said in a report today.
The collapse of the U.S. residential real estate market triggered the recession in 2007 and has stifled an economic recovery, according to the study……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Concern over the future of the U.S. economy — not ratings-firm downgrades of the U.S. or mortgage finance titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — remains the biggest threat to the nation’s housing market, experts said.
With investors dumping shares of U.S. stocks on Monday, yields on U.S. Treasuries continued to decline, as buyers poured into what is traditionally considered a financial safe haven……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The current turmoil may turn out to be good news for real estate investors in the US. Europe is in for a very tough ride for years to come. There are no good answers and the Euro is on its last legs. The Euro never really made any sense in that you simply cannot merge Greek and Italian cultures with Germany and the Nordic countries.
They are different countries for a reason and to think you can merge their monetary systems long term was quite simply, foolish……………………………………….Full Article: Source

If political rhetoric were to be believed, a downgrade of US sovereign credit would lead to spiking interest rates, a dramatic economic contraction, and wide-scale financial chaos. It was an event to be avoided, seemingly at all cost.
And here we are. Miraculously, however, the sun still rose in the east. Alarms blared, coffee brewed and traffic, as it’s apt to do, ground to a halt. The world has not yet ended, but it is surely not the same place it was 72 short hours ago……………………………………….Full Article: Source

If you are a home buyer or seller, local real estate and mortgage experts say don’t panic that the S&P lowered the U.S. credit rating. They do not expect the downgrade to drastically impact the mortgage rates.
Karen Schlosser, Comey and Shepherd Sales Manager, said, “I’m sure there are people who are concerned. My attitude is there are lots of cycles in real estate,” she said. Home seller Steve Reichert of Mason would like the rate to go up a bit. He says that may encourage potential buyers to make a purchase-out of worry that the rates are on the upswing……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Brazilian government is seeking to introduce new measures to better regulate local real estate funds and improve their transparency as part of a plan to attract foreign investors into the asset class.
Brazilian real-estate funds (Breifs) have experienced significant growth in past years, having increased their value to BRL10bn (€4.35bn)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

As other world economies falter, Brazil is enjoying an economic boom and so is its real estate market. But as prime acreage prices across the country and especially those in Rio de Janeiro reach historic highs, some in the sector are questioning whether this is a boom or an unsustainable bubble.
Analysts on both sides say there is concern that the Brazilian currency is currently overvalued……………………………………….Full Article: Source

U.K. house-price declines eased in July because of an increase in demand, and a measure of values in London jumped to its highest level in more than a year, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.
The number of real-estate agents and surveyors saying prices fell last month exceeded those seeing gains by 22 percentage points, compared with 26 percentage points in June, the London-based group said………………………………………Full Article: Source

Figures from Rightmove and Moneycorp reveal a sharp increase in Greek property searches, as Britons seek out potential bargains in light of the ongoing debt crisis in the country.
Potential buyers searching online often enter a keyword to speed up their search. Rightmove and Moneycorp then analyse those statistics to produce a list of popular locations……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investors from Kuwait now account for nearly 60% of all properties purchased by GCC nationals in the emirate of Dubai, according to new figures from the UAE Ministry of Finance.
Luxury Dubai-based developer DAMAC Properties responded to the figures, by confirming it has observed an increase in inquiries from Gulf investors, particularly Kuwaiti nationals, over the past six months……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Indian real estate industry does not see the downgrade of the US credit ratings as an immediate cause of worry.
With Standard & Poor’s lowering of the US ratings from AAA to AA+, analysts feel it’s only the sentiment that would become negative in the short term. In the long run, however, the commercial property space might face the heat……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Many analysts and market watchers, whose job it is to warn of impending real estate bubbles, have trained their sights on China. It’s easy to see why. The economy has expanded an average 10 percent a year for the past 30 years, an incredible growth rate. Average housing prices tripled between 2005 to 2009 alone.
But here are three reasons Chinese real estate has more room to run on the upside before the good times end:………………………………………Full Article: Source

Private residential property prices rose 2 per cent in the second quarter, slightly less than the 2.2 per cent increase witnessed in the first quarter but higher than the expected 1.9 per cent increase.
Prices of non-landed properties in the suburban, city fringe and city centre increased by 1.7 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively, while landed home prices advanced 3.6 per cent……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Singapore authorities plan to introduce increased transparency measures in the property market, after a month-long online consultation process.
Planned rules will include blacklisting from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) website any developers who have had their licenses suspended……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Epoch-making educational reform is predicted to leave its mark on the Taipei City property market. In 2014, Taiwan’s nine-year compulsory education will be extended to 12 years, and junior high school students will no longer have rigid entrance exams for senior high schools - it will all depend on their house address.
Instead of test scores in combination with household registration in desirable school districts, only the latter will determine the school that students get into……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The property market in the Thai resort of Pattaya is bouncing back again to become a hot spot for condominium buyers, attracting foreign and Thai investors, according to consultants.
Pattaya’s strategic location will continue to be a key driver for growth in tourism and its property market, says international real estate consultants CB Richard Ellis……………………………………….Full Article: Source

There are ten world cities in a class of their own when it comes to residential real estate according to international property advisors Savills in its World Class Index of premier global residential property locations published.
Average values across the index have risen by 77% since December 2005, despite the intervening financial crisis, with growth of 6% in the first six months of 2011……………………………………….Full Article: Source

There are ten world cities in a class of their own when it comes to residential real estate says Savills. The new ‘World Class Index’ of premier global residential property locations was published today by the international real estate adviser. Average values across the index have risen by 77% since December 2005, despite the intervening financial crisis.
Growth of 6% was seen in the first six months of 2011 but, says Savills Research, the index average hides a big difference between emerging ’new world’ economies and the indebted ‘old world’……………………………………….Full Article: Source